Gelnn Gould and more. 2-18

September 24, 2018.  On composers and performers.  Four composers were born this week, three of them active in the 20^th century and one in the 18^th.  The 20^th century composers are: Andrzej Panufnik, a Pole born on this day in 1914; the great Dmitry Shostakovich, born the following day, September 25th, in 1906; and George Gershwin, on September 26^th of 1898.  The composer from the 18^th century is Jean-Philippe Rameau, whose birthday is September 25^th of 1683.  We still believe in the supremacy of the creative genius over interpretive talent, but several great musicians of the latter category have their anniversaries this week, and we’ve never written about them.  First and foremost, is one of the greatest pianists of the 20^th century, Glenn Gould.  Even though his repertoire was broad, it’s his Bach that we all remember.  His phenomenal technique, which allowed him to voice separate lines in the most complex polyphonic compositions, his infallible rhythm, which, in combination with the evenness of his crescendos created such a palpable tension, his phrasing, idiosyncratic but in Bach always perfect, and the incomparable clarity of his sound – all of it created performances that were sensational in the 1950s when he burst on the classical scene and remain equally impressive today.  Gould was born in Toronto on September 25^th of 1932.  He started studying the piano very early.  When he was 10, he injured his neck in a fall, and from then on had to use a specially designed chair while playing.  He felt comfortable sitting very low, and his teacher, Alberto Guerrero came up with a technique (pulling the notes down, not striking from above) that was be suitable for Gould’s unusual posture.  Gould had a phenomenal memory (he remembered not just the piano solos but the orchestral parts as well, and often learned new pieces by reading the music without practicing the piano, taking to the instrument only at the end).  

Gould made his American debut in 1955 (he played an unusual program of Gibbons, Sweelinck, Bach, Beethoven, Berg, and Webern); Columbian Records signed him the very next day.  His first recording was Bach's Goldberg Variations, which became famous overnight.  Gould always felt uncomfortable playing in public and in 1964 retired from the stage; after that he played only in the studio.  He made a large number of recordings, from the Baroque masters to Haydn and the idiosyncratic late Beethoven, to Brahms, Hindemith, Berg and Schoenberg.  And of course, he made numerous recording of his beloved Bach.  Out of this vast output, we’ll play just one piece, Bach’s Chromatic Fantasy (here).  It was recorded on November 10^th of 1979.  Gould died in Toronto on October 4^th of 1982 at the age of 50.

A pianist from a different era and with very different sensibility, Alfred Cortot was born on September 26^th of 1877.  His friend the violinist Jacques Thibaud was born three years and one day later, on September 27^th of 1880. Both wonderful musicians, we’ll dedicate an entry to them at a later date.  And we also cannot forget our favorite, the great German tenor Fritz Wunderlich, who was born on September 26^th of 1930 and died after slipping and falling on stairs, 10 days before his 36^th birthday.  He was one of the greatest Lied singers of all time.  Here he’s singing Schubert’s Leise flehen meine Lieder.  Hubert Giesen is at the piano.  The song was recorded in Minch in July of 1966, less than two months before Wunderlich’s death.